At least seven officials in Masaka District have been arrested on orders of State Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Rose Lilly Akello, after failing to account for public funds. Those arrested include Masaka City Education Officer Steven Kakeeto, City Commercial Officer Ronald Joseph Mugerwa, District Community Development Officer Wilson Kizza, District Focal Person John Baptist Matovu, District Commercial Officer Willy Ssekandi, Assistant Resident District Commissioner Sarah Nakyanzi, and City Enforcement Officer William Muwanguzi.
The arrests followed a meeting held at Masaka City Mayor’s chambers on November 22, attended by district and city staff, politicians, and department heads. During the meeting, the implicated officials were asked to address concerns about their departments but failed to provide satisfactory explanations.
Investigations are being led by a team under Minister Akello, comprising officials from the Office of the Auditor General, Inspectorate of Government, State House Anti-Corruption Unit, Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Police Criminal Investigations Directorate, and State House Health Monitoring Unit.
Kakeeto faced scrutiny for failing to address issues in his department, particularly concerning inflated student numbers at Butale Primary School and Kalagala COP Primary School. While Butale Primary School had only 120 students, it was receiving capitation grants for over 200, leading to suspicions of collusion with school heads to defraud the government. After failing to provide adequate answers, Kakeeto was ordered to record a statement at Masaka Central Police Station.
Mugerwa is accused of demanding bribes from groups seeking to benefit from government programs such as Emyooga and the Parish Development Model, allegedly charging amounts between UGX 10 million and UGX 15 million. Ssekandi reportedly collaborated with a businessman to sell trees from a district forest worth UGX 2 million without proper authorization. Nakyanzi is alleged to have altered the land title for Masaka Resource Centre, a public property housing the city library, a craft shop, and restaurants.
Minister Akello urged the public to support efforts to fight corruption, emphasizing that addressing the vice requires collective responsibility. Masaka City Mayor Florence Namayanja commended the work of the inter-agency forum, expressing optimism that it would help eliminate corruption from city departments.